Bacolod's Juvic Pagunsan got back at Davao's Jay Bayron in scrambling fashion, matching the reigning Order of Merit winner’s birdie-par finish to annex a two-shot victory with a closing three-under 69 in the ICTSI Royal Northwoods Championship at the Royal Northwoods Golf and Country Club in San Rafael, Bulacan, Friday.
Pagunsan nearly lost a five-stroke lead in the last four holes as he lost his touch but the veteran internationalist checked his skid in time to repulse the charging Bayron and pocket the crown worth P200,000 with an 11-under 205 aggregate.
“I tried to apply the pressure in the early going since he also had a good start,” said the 32-year-old Pagunsan, who rattled off four birdies in a fiery shootout with Bayron in the frontside, in Filipino.
Bayron, who ran out of holes and settled for a 70 and a 207, also made four birdies at the front but dropped a shot on No. 4 and made the turn at 33 to fall two strokes behind.
Pagunsan, who lost the OOM crown in last year’s ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour after Bayron topped the final leg in Canlubang, sustained his charge at the back with birdies on Nos. 10 and 12 and moved ahead by five despite a bogey on the par-5 No. 13, which Bayron double-bogeyed.
But just when he thought he had the crown in the bag, Pagunsan, winner of the ICTSI-Apo and ICTSI-Riviera legs last year, stumbled with a bogey on No. 15, another par-5 hole, and then dropped another shot on the next.
That enabled Bayron, who also won the all-star Aboitiz Invitational in Cebu, to close within two as he birdied No. 15 for a two-shot swing and then parred the next from eight feet.
But Pagunsan quashed Bayron’s hopes by matching his rival’s birdie on the 17th and then holed out with a routine par to wrap up the crown in the P1 million event, the kickoff leg of a 12-stage circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tour, Inc.
The win should make Pagunsan the top favorite in next week’s second leg at Mt. Malarayat where Angelo Que and teen sensation Miguel Tabuena are tipped to join the title hunt after skipping the Northwoods stage for various reasons.
“It’s really tough playing Juvic in the final round, especially if he’s ahead,” said Bayron, who took home P120,000, in Filipino. “But I’m happy with my performance.”
But the rest shouldn’t be as Mhark Fernando, the former national champion, finished six strokes behind Pagunsan at 211 despite a 70 for third. He won P65,000.
Gene Bondoc also wound up with a 70 to force a five-way tie for fourth at 212, including Anthony Fernando, who lost his way in the face of Pagunsan and Bayron’s torrid shootout in the championship flight, and limped with a 74.
Other 212 scorers were Cassius Casas, who had a 73, while rookie pro Carl Santos-Ocampo, who bounced into contention with 67 in the second round, also had a 73.
Jobim Carlos, the ace amateur who matched Pagunsan’s 66 in the first round, turned in a 71 to join the four pros at 212 while running away with the low amateur honors in the event backed by MJ Carr Golf Management, Inc., Srixon, Callaway, Dynamic Sports, Omnisource International, Unilab, Mizuno, Titleist.
Elmer Salvador, the former Phl Open champion and winner of the 2009 OOM crown, placed solo ninth at 213 after a 71, while Gerald Rosales, another former Phl Open winner, and Arnold Villacencio, who rallied with a 69, shared 10th place at 214.PR
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